Quantity

Price

Product Description

Sky Umbrella

In 1992 the MoMA Design Store introduced the Sky Umbrella by legendary graphic designer Tibor Kalman and Emanuela Frattini Magnusson. The umbrella's exterior gives away nothing more than a plain, black canopy and a simple wooden handle. Once opened, the interior reveals a cheerful blue sky dotted with fluffy, white clouds. The umbrella's surprising blue-sky interior echoes the playful career of Kalman, whose work is featured in the Museum’s collection. Kalman once again used the visual motif of the Sky Umbrella in a 1995 issue of Colors, an award-winning global magazine where Kalman served as the founding editor-in-chief. Made of sturdy nylon covering the photo-process-printed sky on polyester with a durable wooden shaft and handle with a manual open/close mechanism.

About the Designer

Tibor Kalman

Tibor Kalman (1949-1999) founded the legendary, multidisciplinary design firm M&Co in 1979. In collaboration with his wife Maira, the conceptually progressive firm initially created graphics, magazines and film titles, and books. Following the release of a record album cover for the rock band Talking Heads, M&Co gained major attention for "pushing the envelope" on conventions of design and typography, and went on to become a major influence on emerging designers.

I ordered 2 of these. The first for myself is elegant and sturdy. It withstands the wind (never turns inside out) and the blue sky with clouds really is cool, with robust, true colors. Well worth the price. I liked it so much I bought a second as a gift for a family member. Very disappointing when the box was opened to reveal an umbrella broken in half. Adding insult to injury is that it must have been boxed that way since the umbrella was wrapped in bubble wrap and the box was in fine condition.

This is a beautiful umbrella. Lovely wooden handle, double lined, so more resident to being damaged by the wind. However it does not open automatically, which in this day and age is not only unusual, but also unnecessary. To prove that point there are other, very similar umbrellas on the market that do open automatically, so there really is no need to purchase this one. Alas, I did not read the description sufficiently to work that out before ordering. I would return it, but being based in the UK the cost of the return postage makes that pointless in terms of recouping the price of the umbrella. My mistake, but it honestly didn't occur to me that anyone even made manual opening full sized umbrellas anymore.

The Sky Umbrella was a gift from me, not to me. My daughter asked for it as a Christmas gift. She was so chagrined when it was stolen while she was at a movie with a friend, really distressed because it happened at a bad time. I sent her a replacement immediately. She was delighted both times, and I would like to give it as gifts to all my relatives and friends for their delight.